Official online lookupRatified ILO C181
Recruitment agency licensing in Japan
Licensing authority: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) grants permits for employment placement businesses.1,4
How to check an agency in Japan
MHLW recommends asking a placement operator for its permit number or checking its Jinzai Service Sogo Site, which lists all permitted or notified placement offices.1,2
Who needs a licence
Article 30(1) of the Employment Security Act, in the Ministry of Justice English translation reflecting amendments up to 2007, says "A person who intends to carry out a fee-charging employment placement business shall obtain a license" from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. Under Article 33(1) a free employment placement business also needs the Minister's licence, with exceptions in Articles 33-2 to 33-4.4
Fees charged to workers
An MHLW leaflet says the employer normally pays the placement operator a fee after hiring. Under Article 32-3 of the Employment Security Act a fee-charging operator may receive only fees of the type and amount set by ordinance or notified to the Minister, and generally may not collect fees from job seekers except in cases set by ordinance.1,4
ILO Private Employment Agencies Convention (C181)
Ratified on 28 July 19993
Main law
Checked 28 October 2026. This page describes the licensing system. It does not list or rate individual agencies.
Sources
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Leaflet on using employment placement businesses (October 2014 edition) (October 2014)
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Worker dispatch and employment placement (policy page)
- Government of the Netherlands, Treaty Database, Convention concerning Private Employment Agencies, Geneva, 19-06-1997 (29 January 2026)
- Ministry of Justice, Japanese Law Translation, Employment Security Act (Act No. 141 of 1947), English translation